Scottish science company R-Biopharm Rhône has made a major breakthrough which will help health and food standards authorities identify a potentially harmful antibiotic in wine and foodstuffs in the UK.
The Glasgow-based company has developed a screening kit which looks for traces of chloramphenicol, a prohibited antibiotic which is misused in the farming, the seafood industry and in apiculture. This antibiotic is banned from foodstuffs entering the food chain due to increasing resistance and in extreme cases; chloramphenicol can cause anaphylactic shock which, in vulnerable people, can be fatal.
R-Biopharm Rhône, one of Scotland's most successful scientific exporters, originally developed the test to detect chloramphenicol in honey and seafood, and has now extended its methods to include wine, grape juice and enzymes which are used in food production.
EU rules state that food and wine must be completely chloramphenicol-free. Increased testing for chloramphenicol came into effect last year when the EU's Rapid Alert System reported that the banned antibiotic had been found in enzymes used in food production I September 2013 with a second alert this month.
R-Biopharm Rhône is the only enterprise in the UK using immunoaffinity columns to screen for and clean up residues of chloramphenicol, with standards well in excess of EU requirements and detection below 0.3 parts per billion. Its new products will enhance EU detection efforts with enzymes which are imported into Europe from countries such as India.
Enzymes are protein molecules which have a huge range of uses in the food industry, including the conversion of starch, enhancing flavour development, tenderising meat and treating fruit pulp, which is why wine can be affected.
Product Manager Claire Milligan said: "Although it is assumed that there is no direct health risk for the consumer of potentially contaminated foodstuff at the moment, EU laws demand that food must be completely free of prohibited substances.
"R-Biopharm Rhône's combination of immunoaffinity clean-up and ELISA analysis - which uses antibodies and colour change to identify substances - allows an easy and sensitive screening of enzymes, wine and grape juice for residues of chloramphenicol."
The chloramphenicol screening further enhances R-Biopharm Rhône's reputation as a leading developer of test solutions for food and feed analysis and manufacturer of test kits that offer high precision and accuracy.
The company, which is based in the West of Scotland Science Park, now has a headcount of more than 50, the highest total in its 25-year history. It is now by far the biggest and most profitable subsidiary of its parent company; German diagnostics company R-Biopharm AG.
The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine GFMT which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
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